Radiological habitability evaluation of the control room of the high-temperature reactor pebble-bed module: post-accident dose assessment and sensitivity studies

Abstract

ABSTRACT The radiological habitability of a control room is important for nuclear emergency response, which is also a licensing prerequisite for nuclear power plants. It is determined by both atmospheric relative concentrations and doses received via different pathways. However, most recent studies have focused only on the former, which may not be adequate. The present study therefore investigates the radiological habitability and its sensitivity to different parameters in the high-temperature gas-cooled reactor pebble-bed module power plant. For three typical accidents, the study estimates the body, thyroid and skin doses received via different pathways using the Nuclear Regulatory Commission recommended ARCON96 and dose calculation method in RG 1.195. To make a realistic evaluation, the latest design and site-specific information, including the unique accidental source term, are collected and used as input parameters. The evaluation results reveal that the total dose of different pathways in the control room is far below the limit, which demonstrates the effectiveness of the current design. The inhalation exposure is the dominant pathway, and iodine and caesium are the primary contributors of the inhalation dose. The particle filter removal fraction is the most influential parameter in an accident which the activities of metal radionuclides are high.